Central Ohio Orchid Society

Transcription

1 Central Ohio Orchid Society Reporter Newsletter Editor: Katrina Heap July 2017 July Meeting Annual Potluck Picnic Sunday, July 30 th, 2017 Justin and Wendy s House - 12pm 4pm Once again, Justin and Wendy have been kind enough to host our annual potluck picnic and this year the fun begins at Noon. They are just down the road from Franklin Park and a breeze to find Eastwood Ave, (Map link below) Bring along your favorite covered dish or dessert for sharing and a lawn chair (or two!). And, don t forget those blooming orchids because we will be having our grower contest show table. Please RSVP Justin so we have an idea of number of attendees and guests. Justin s is pepperney.3@gmail.com MAP showing proximity to Franklin Park Conservatory Grower s Contest Results: June show table results: Oncidium Tennis Maynard Mtps Lennart Karl Gottling 'Red Rim' 1st Jennifer Sonnenberg Onc sphacelatum 2nd Cory Curran Unknown Onc 3rd

2 Paphiopedilum Jessica Badger Paph Song of Love 1st Terry and Sandra Stohr Paph Ang-Thong var alba 'In Charm' x niveum var Pathana 'Feciasos x niveum 'In Charm' BM/TRS 2nd Tennis Maynard Paph fowliei v alba 3rd Cattleya species Tennis Maynard C walkeriana v semi-alba 'Kenny' 1st Tennis Maynard C gaskelliana 2nd Tennis Maynard C purpurata v carnea 3rd Cattleya hybrids Cory Curran Lc Amethyst Star 1st Dave and Edna Markley Blc Yellow Bird 2nd Dave and Edna Markley Bc Maikai Improved x C maxima 3rd Encyclia Melissa Lee and Sam Darnall Encyclia alata 1st Tennis Maynard Epi/Enc/Ana prismatocarpum 2nd Dave and Edna Markley Encyclia Cindy 3rd Dendrobium Tessie Steelman Den Ilustre - POM 1st Harold Blazier Den anosmum 2nd Dave and Edna Markley Den Vitner's Reserve 'Vino Tinto' 3rd Other Nancy Shapiro Vanda unknown 1st Harold Blazier Calopogan tuberosus 2nd Scott Bever Max tenuifolia 3rd Hospitality: We are in need of volunteers for September and October meetings. Please see Terry and Sandra and get your name added to the list to help out where you can.

3 COOS 2017 Calendar: General meetings: 7/30 COOS Picnic at Justin and Wendy's House - 12pm - 4pm Aug No Meeting - 9/21 TBD TBD 10/19 TBD TBD 11/16 Annual Potluck and Awards Dinner - Dec No Meeting - Board meetings 7pm start time Sept 12, Nov 14 COOS Board Members President Dave Markley davemarkley27@gmail.com 1st VP / Program Chair Justin Pepperney pepperney.3@gmail.com 2nd VP/ Home Show Chair Acting - Dave Markley davemarkley27@gmail.com 3rd VP / Away Show Chair Ken Mettler ecocop@frontier.com Secretary Suzanne Cavazos cavazos07@gmail.com Asst Secretary/Newsletter Katrina Heap katrinaheap@gmail.com Treasurer Edna Markley Davemarkley27@gmail.com Asst Treasurer/Membership Chair Acting- Edna Markley ednamarkley@gmail.com Immediate Past President Tennis Maynard jaymay55@gmail.com COOS Trustees Elly Campbell 2017 elly.campbell@yahoo.com Don Weber 2017 weberd1@yahoo.com Bill Cavanaugh 2017 brobdingnag@prodigy.net Susan Allison 2017 plants@allisonr.us

4 Membership ~ Friendly reminder. If you haven t already joined and/or renewed click HERE to download the membership form and either mail it, along w/your check, to the address listed OR save yourself the postage and bring it to the next meeting. Culture Corner: Courtesy of the American Orchid Society website The Summer Doldrums: How to Care for Your Orchids During the Wilds of Summer Summer presents challenges in the form of increased pest activity, fungal and bacterial problems in traditionally wet areas and desiccation in those areas with Mediterranean-like climates where summers are typically quite dry. Observation is the watchword for the summer months. Careful observation of your plants is the best way to identify small problems before they become big problems and in the summer, the time between these two events is dramatically shorter due to higher temperatures --- the earlier you catch a problem, the easier it is to control. Soft brown scale Pest Control

5 For small collections, the best thing to do is to physically wipe insects off and clean the plant. Isopropyl alcohol and a cotton swab are very effective against most pests and if you want to increase its effectiveness, a drop of Ivory dishwashing liquid added to the alcohol helps wet the typically waxy surface of orchid leaves. If you haven't been watching carefully and the infestation gets out of control, you might have to use chemicals. Few pesticides are specifically rated for use on orchids but you can use any that are labeled for ornamentals. Use care and follow the label directions. This is NOT a situation where if a little is good, more will be better! In areas with dry summers, mites can be a serious problem especially on phalaenopsis. These creatures attack the surface of the leaves producing a sort of rough, silvery appearance. Mites are not insects and insecticides offer little or no control. Mites do not like humid conditions so efforts to increase humidity are beneficial. Light infestations can be controlled by thoroughly cleaning plants but in hot, dry climates light infestations rapidly become serious and control is best accomplished by the use of a miticide. Bacterial rot on Phalaenopsis leaf. Areas with wet summers Wet foliage and high humidity encourages the spread of fungal and bacterial diseases. Bacterial diseases do not respond to fungicides and vice versa so it's very important to know which disease you are dealing with. Perhaps the easiest way to distinguish between the two is by smell. The most common bacterial disease in orchids produces a foul smell often likened to dead fish. If you've ever had cut flowers stand too long in water you know the sort of smell we're talking about. Black rot, a fungal disease on Cattleya leaves.

6 Diseases can spread quickly! Bacterial diseases kill plants especially rapidly and time is of the essence. Both bacterial and fungal diseases are spread by splashing water and this includes rainfall. Use a clean cutting tool like a single-edge razor blade, cut off the infected tissue as well as at least an inch of clean, green area and then treat the cut surface with a fungicide. Even if the problem is bacterial, you don't want a fungal infection to start in the wound. Cinnamon, yes the common spice, is effective against fungal diseases and this can be used to coat the cut surface as well. It's perhaps not as effective as a chemical fungicide but it's readily available and does work. In wet summer areas, the to control is to keep your plants as dry as possible. Alternatively, provide a lot of air movement. When you water, try to do so as early in the day as possible. This will allow adequate time for the foliage to dry before nightfall. Dry summer areas The bane of orchid growers in these areas is extremely low humidity and this leads to two issues. The first of these is an increase in the rate at which plants dry out and the other is the ever-present mite issue. Orchids in dry summer areas dry out much more rapidly than they did in the winter. Depending on temperature, plants watered every two weeks in the winter may need to be watered every few days in the summer. Here again, nothing will take the place of careful observation. If you have an extensive collection of plants, you might want to consider installing a misting system similar to those used in open-air restaurants in dry areas. Low pressure units that install on hose lines are inexpensive and work reasonably well to raise humidity as well as cool the growing area somewhat. A desiccated Cattleya note lack of live roots. Summer sun - how does that affect orchids Solar radiation is much more intense in the summer and plants that have been happily in full sun all winter may need a little extra protection (shade) when the sun is the strongest or, often during the late afternoon when the temperatures are highest. Orchids are easily sunburned and you should take care when moving plants around, especially if you are moving plants grown inside during the winter to a spot outside for the

7 summer. Sunburn, while not in itself a serious problem is irreversible and will make your plants look ugly. In serious cases the plant can be killed outright and any leaf damage is an invitation to a secondary infection in the damaged area. Sunburn on a Bifrenaria leaf. Orchid foliage should be a light yellow-green. The first sign of too much light is often yellow foliage. If left alone, this yellow foliage will eventually turn white and then dark brown and dry as the sunburned area dries out. If the problem is caught before the chlorophyll has been completely destroyed it is often possible to reverse the damage. Once white spots or sunken areas have appeared, the damage is irreversible and the best thing one can do is stop further progression with more shade. Capitalizing on the high-growth season Because of the increased light and temperatures, your plants will benefit from more fertilizer (increased frequency NOT concentration). This is especially true for those varieties that put out new growth during this time. Avoid fertilizers that contain significant amounts of urea. Urea requires soil organisms to convert it to forms useable by orchids and the process liberates significant amounts of acid. If you are growing in a predominantly inorganic media like rock or aliflor, soil organisms aren't prevalent and these media have poor buffering capacity. If you are growing in fir back media, as the medium ages, it naturally becomes more acidic and less able to buffer the ph shifts caused by metabolism of urea. Plants will also dry out faster and to avoid root damage, water your plants first before fertilizing. This way the roots will be wet and much less easily damaged by the salts in the fertilizer solution. If you grow your plants inside during the cooler months, moving them outside for the summer is very often a "shot in the arm" and your plants will respond with renewed vigor. There's something about natural air movement, humidity and rainfall that just can't be duplicated indoors. Just remember, make the transition slowly. Place them under very heavy shade for a few days, then somewhat less shade for a few days and then move them to their summer homes paying careful attention to the color of the foliage. You'll be glad you did. Ron McHatton, AOS Director of Education, 2009